UK Bans Teen Social Media Access, Exposing US Inaction on Child Safety

Executive Briefing

• Reveals UK plans to ban under-16s from Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook by spring 2027.
• Shows 81% of U.S. adults support parental consent requirements for minors' social media accounts, per Pew Research.
• Contrasts UK platform-level regulation with Washington's approach of placing responsibility solely on parents.
• Notes bipartisan U.S. Senate passed kids' online safety bill 91-3 in 2024, but it never became law.
• Highlights civil-liberties concerns from ACLU and EFF that age-verification bans risk privacy and free expression.